SMART (DIS)INVESTMENT CHOICES IN HEALTHCARE

In 2018, Friends of Europe launched a working group series on health (dis)investment, gathering various key stakeholders from the healthcare sector and beyond, to discuss how a systematic approach to spending in health can earmark both funds for innovation and release resources for practices that don’t deliver better health results.

This debate will launch the report of the health (dis)investment series, presenting the outcomes of these discussions which brings together the views of a large network of health professionals, policymakers, scholars and business representatives on health investments. Key recommendations will be presented and discussed amongst participants, ahead of the new European Commission and Parliament to be elected in 2019.

Healthcare systems across the OECD countries are being challenged by ageing populations, increasing costs and limited funds. On top of that, not all money invested in health is well spent and not all interventions are fit for purpose. Addressing this issue would release much needed resources and improve health outcomes. Progress has been made at EU level in finetuning approaches to evaluating new technologies (HTA) and overall health system performance (HSPA). These are building blocks in a smart investment strategy. But few countries have developed strategies to actively disinvest in redundant, outdated or ineffective treatments. Research is missing on how to identify which health interventions are of minor or no health benefit.

What role does the EU play in ensuring that all stakeholders in healthcare can be rewarded for better health outcomes?

What could be the key elements in a possible common EU approach to health disinvestment?

What can the EU do to generate the evidence needed for smart investment decision-making for health at national, regional or local level?

Big data and AI are expected to revolutionise healthcare, but there are concerns around ethics and privacy of patient data. Beyond the GDPR, what can the EU do to support the revolution?

Speakers include:Loubna Bouarfa, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of OKRA Technologies, an artificial intelligence data analytics company for healthcareWolfgang Burtscher, Deputy Director-General, DG RTD, European CommissionSylvain Giraud, Head of Unit for Performance of National Health Systems, European Commission Directorate-General for Health and Food SafetyAndrea Rappagliosi, Vice-President, Market Access and Public Affairs, EMEA, Canada and LATAM, at Edwards LifesciencesKhalil Rouhana, European Commission Deputy Director-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology

Moderated by
Dharmendra Kanani, Director of Insights at Friends of Europe

Speakers

Loubna Bouarfa

Chief Executive Officer and Founder of OKRA Technologies, an artificial intelligence data analytics company for healthcare

Loubna Bouarfa is a machine learning scientist turned entrepreneur. After several years in academia she, an engineer by training with a specific focus on applying AI for healthcare, founded OKRA Technologies, a health data analysis platform, using Artificial Intelligence to equip healthcare and life sciences professionals with the foresight to improve patient outcomes. Bouarfa has also recently been appointed by the European Commission as a High-Level Expert on Artificial Intelligence, supporting the EU by developing recommendations on ethical, legal and societal issues related to AI, impacting the health of the wider society. Bouarfa was awarded the title of Leading Innovator by the MIT Technology Review in 2017 and features amongst Forbes’ list of Top Women in Tech 2018.

Wolfgang Burtscher

Deputy Director-General, DG RTD, European Commission

With more than 18 years’ experience in the European Commission, Wolfgang Burtscher was appointed Deputy Director-General in October 2009, focusing on “Open Innovation and Open Science, Open to the World”. Prior to joining the Directorate General (DG) for Research and Innovation, he acted as a Director in DG Agriculture. Throughout his career, Burtscher was representative of the Länder at the Austrian Permanent Representation to the EU and director of European Affairs in the Vorarlberg administration. Previously he was a legal advisor at the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) at the time of negotiations on the European Economic Area (EEA).

Sylvain Giraud

Head of Unit for Performance of National Health Systems, European Commission Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety

With over 15 years’ experience at the European Commission, Sylvain Giraud is one of the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety’s top experts on the performance of national health systems across Europe. He is notably in charge of developing country-specific and cross-country knowledge of health systems and supporting cooperation across the EU. Prior to his current position, Giraud worked on international health issues and policy coordination in the same Directorate-General and on institutional cooperation in the European Commission’s Secretariat-General. Giraud started his career by working for European trade associations and consultancies in Brussels.

Dharmendra Kanani

Director of Insights at Friends of Europe

Dharmendra Kanani has been in senior leadership roles in the Public and Voluntary sectors across the UK and Europe over a period of 26 years. In 2005, he was appointed as Director of Scotland of the Big Lottery Fund. Subsequently, from 2010 to 2014, Kanani was the England Director at the Big Lottery Fund, the largest independent funder in the UK. Since 2016, he has supported Friends of Europe’s strategic development across all its policy areas with a strong focus on Climate and Energy; Peace, Security and Defence as well as Digitalisation. Prior to this role, Kanani was the European Foundation Centre’s (EFC) first Fellow in July 2014.

Andrea Rappagliosi

Vice-President, Market Access and Public Affairs, EMEA, Canada and LATAM, at Edwards Lifesciences

An acknowledged business leader in the health sector, Andrea Rappagliosi has held numerous senior positions within leading pharmaceutical companies, including Baxter, Merck, GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi. He now serves as Vice-President of Edwards Lifesciences, the global leader in the science of heart valves and hemodynamic monitoring. In recent years, Andrea represented the healthcare industry in several European EU Commission and Member States initiatives, such as the EU HTA Network Commission, the EU Active &amp; Healthy Aging Innovation Partnership and was member of the European Commission High Level Pharmaceutical Forum (Relative Effectiveness and Pricing).

Khalil Rouhana

European Commission Deputy Director-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology

A research engineer by training, Khalil Rouhana has over 25 years of experience within the European Commission. As Deputy Director-General, Rouhana’s responsibilities include policies for the digital economy, notably for research, innovation and industrial strategies, digital solution for societal challenges as well as cybersecurity. Prior to joining the Commission, Rouhana started his career as a research and development engineer for the aeronautics industry and deputy director for the electrical engineering division of the French University in Beirut. Rouhana also served as the director of Esigetel, (Ecole supérieure d'Ingénieurs en Génie Informatique et Télécommunications"), a renowned French school of engineering.

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